The Queen's Gambit
by Lady Eowyn of Ithilien
Summary: The war's over, but who said rebuilding would be easy? Before the war begins, Ino embarks on the most dangerous mission of her life. ItaIno excerpts from The Endgame.
1. Chapter 1

**The Queen's Gambit**

The war's over, but who said rebuilding would be easy? Before the war begins, Ino embarks on the most dangerous mission of her life. ItaIno excerpts from The Endgame.

* * *

The Queen's Gambit, a queen pawn opening, is one of the oldest known chess openings. ** Wikipedia

* * *

**The Endgame Chapter 36 **

**Interlude**

_Ino stood ramrod straight in the small room at the base of the Hokage Tower that Danzo used as an office. She had never been summoned to the Root leader's office before, and she couldn't understand why she was now._

_She only knew Danzo by reputation. Lady Tsunade and her teacher Shizune despised the man. They thought that he was a power hungry bottom feeder, hiding in the shadows trying to increase his own power and prestige. That association alone made her want to spit at Yamanaka Fu's feet when he arrived at her house to summon her to Danzo. Her father was at the T&I department that day, so he wouldn't scold her for disrespecting another clan member. _

_However, Danzo was a staunch nationalist. He believed in the might of Konoha before all else, so she had to respect that at least._

_Fu led her into the room, nodded to Danzo, and left. Three ROOT ninjas stood in the back of the office with her and Danzo. They were hooded and cloaked, their faces hidden behind masks. _

_DRAGON was the tallest of the bunch and SPIDER was the smallest. POSSUM fell somewhere in the middle. Ino suspected that SPIDER was a woman from her slight feminine frame. She was petite, even shorter and slighter than Ino, who was willowy and tall. _

_Danzo sat at his desk flipping through a folder. He looked up after a beat. He offered her a smile which didn't reach his single visible eye. Ino smiled back weakly in return. He stood up from his desk and walked over to her. She stood stock still as he walked around her, appraising her with a critical eye._

_"You're quite a pretty girl," he said. _

_Ino cringed. "Thank you."_

_He stopped in front of her. She thought that he would ask to see her teeth like one would when looking to purchase a horse. "I would imagine that would increase the probability of success on your mission."_

_Ino shivered. She had heard about these sorts of missions, but she thought they were a myth. Naturally she could have guessed that a shinobi like Danzo would still have an interest in commissioning them. _

_"I was surprised to receive you summons," said Ino in reply. "May I ask what this is about?"_

_"How old are you?"_

_"Seventeen."_

_"Are you a virgin?"_

_Ino blinked. "I fail to see how that could be relevant."_

_"Just answer the question," said the quiet but firm voice of SPIDER from behind her. It was a woman's voice as she suspected._

_"Yes," said Ino tightly._

_"I find that surprising for a pretty girl like you," said DRAGON. There was a cruel sneer in his voice. _

_"And you've been a chunin for two years now," continued Danzo._

_"Yes."_

_He continued to circle her, saying, "You studied your clan techniques with your father and medical ninjutsu with Kato Shizune. You have jonin level interrogation and infiltration techniques, high chunin level medical ninjutsu, high chunin level poison techniques..."_

_"That's right."_

_"... and jonin level kunoichi talents."_

_Ino took a deep breath. "I can hear what you're implying. Just spit it out."_

_Danzo paused in front of her, invading her personal space. There was a dangerous glint in his single uncovered eye. "We haven't seen the need to implement this program for many years; however, circumstances have changed that require the reinstitution of this program. One of Konoha's greatest clans is on the brink of extinction. Kekkei genkai are one of Konoha's greatest strengths. _

_"The genetics of the passing on of bloodlines is very complex. That's why many clans intermarry, to ensure that their kekkei genkai is passed on and not diluted. The Hyuga clan is one such example. _

_"When a shinobi with a kekkei genkai marries a kunoichi or civilian outside of his clan, often the resulting children have weakened versions of the bloodline or do not inherit at all. However, in our history there are some examples of ninja from two different clans marrying and their children possessing even stronger kekkei genkai than their parents."_

_Ino was stubbornly silent._

_"However, there are very few examples of this. It is more often the exception than the rule. Usually when ninjas with two different bloodlines have children, their children have weaker versions of one of their parents' bloodlines or neither bloodline."_

_Danzo took a step forward and tucked her long bang behind her ear. He grabbed her chin roughly in his wrinkled hands and angled her face towards him so that she was forced to look into his single eye. "There is one such example of clan intermarriage that is relevant to your mission. Uchiha Kagami was a shinobi alive during the time of the Second Great Shinobi war. He and I completed several missions together. He was a young man, a chunin, during the war and was promoted to jonin soon after. He was nearly ten years my junior, but we received the promotion only a year apart._

_"During the rebuilding under the Nidaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kagami fell in love and married a kunoichi from the Yamanaka clan - a woman very much like you. They had one child together, Uchiha Shisui. He was one of the most power members of the Uchiha clan. Her Yamanaka bloodline mixed with the Sharingan to grant Shisui the most powerful genjutsu the shinobi world has ever seen."_

_"I've heard the story," said Ino._

_Danzo continued, ignoring her interruption. "Your Yamanaka bloodline is purer and stronger than that of Shisui's mother. And the father has an Uchiha bloodline purer and stronger than that of Uchiha Kagami. I'm sure that your child will be an even stronger ninja than Shisui. Your child will be an asset for Root."_

_"You want me to sleep with Uchiha Sasuke," said Ino simply._

_"No, I want you to sleep with Uchiha Itachi and bear his child."_

_"That's impossible!" Ino cried out, finally losing her composure. "And even if it wasn't, I won't do it. There's nothing you can say or do to convince me otherwise. You can threaten me and those I love all you like. I won't do it. What I will do is report you straight to Tsunade."_

_DRAGON chuckled from behind her. The ROOT shinobi took a step forward and grabbed both of her arms tightly in his grasp to prevent her from weaving handsigns or striking blows. He pulled her in close to his body, and wrapped one of his arms across her chest. His arm pressed into her breasts, further preventing her from moving. _

_She tried to struggle in his grasp and he laughed in her ear. He ground his hips against her ass and she could feel him starting to get hard. Her struggles intensified. "Get off me!"_

_"Feisty, this one," DRAGON mused. "Can I have her before the Uchiha, Danzo?"_

_DANZO frowned at the ROOT ninja. "Her womb will be growing a new Uchiha very soon. I don't want to run the risk of compromising that."_

_"I'm not going to do it! Let me go!" Ino's struggles and cries were becoming hysterical._

_SPIDER walked over and rolled her eyes at DRAGON before slapping Ino across the face. "Calm down. You should be honored that Danzo-sama chose to include you in his plans. You should be proud that your child will become central to Danzo's new village. The child might eventually grow to be a ROOT commander like POSSUM, DRAGON, or myself."_

_Ino spat in her face. "Then why don't you do it?"_

_Danzo took a step forward. "SPIDER has other uses." Danzo's grip was hard on Ino's chin as he titled her head to look into his face. "I had anticipated a struggle. I would have been disappointed if you hadn't. Luckily, I was prepared for such a contingency. It's an unfortunate waste to use this on you, but the benefits will outweigh any inconvenience."_

_Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm a kunoichi from the Yamanaka clan. None of your second rate mind control will work on me."_

_SPIDER, DRAGON, and POSSUM chuckled._

_Danzo smirked at her, as he unwound the bandages hiding the other half of his face from view. She watched as a Sharingan was revealed to her. "It's fitting then that I'll use Shisui's eye to commission this mission. To think you'll soon be bringing to life a second such pair of eyes in your womb."_

_Ino tried to close her eyes against him, but she was powerless. Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan bored into her as Danzo compelled her to complete the mission._

* * *

**The Endgame Chapter 38 **

**Interlude**

_She followed the woman in the spider mask into the small room beside Danzo's office. The other woman slid back the hood of her cloak and untied her mask, revealing the face of a brown eyed kunoichi. Ino recognized the curly blonde hair as belonging to one of the doctors in the hospital._

_"You're…" began Ino._

_"Fuiji Akio," smiled SPIDER. "Nice to meet you."_

_"But you're a doctor at the hospital. Are you telling me that you're also a ROOT spy?"_

_Akio smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "I specialize in birth and pregnancies, particularly in the passing on of kekkei genkai. I'm one of the foremost experts in their field. Danzo commissioned me to lead OPERATION KUNOICHI because of my particular skill set."_

_Ino felt an icy chill of foreboding. "You're not stopping with the Sharingan are you?"_

_There was a shuffling and a tapping of a cane behind them. "OPERATION KUNOICHI is to ensure that the great kekkei genkai of Konoha will not become extinct in the next generation," said Shimura Danzo as he entered the room. "We may use you to further this goal after you have given birth to Uchiha Itachi's child."_

_Ino glared at him. "The hell I will. What's to stop me from turning you all in or slitting my own throat after I leave here?"_

_Danzo chuckled. "Don't forget the commands of the genjutsu. Say them for me, girl."_

_Ino bit her lip, trying to keep herself from obeying him, but the genjutsu induced compulsion was too strong. "Obey Danzo," she spat, "and the leaders of ROOT. Conceive a child with Uchiha Itachi and ensure that no Konoha ninja besides the leaders of ROOT is aware of its existence. Turn the infant over to the leaders of ROOT."_

_"Very good," said Danzo with approval. "I have a feeling that you'll be very useful to us."_

_Ino started as the woman behind her grabbed her hips with gloved hands. "She's got wide hips. That should be useful for carrying the child."_

_Danzo looked at Ino with an amused smile. Ino didn't like it one bit. "Yes. Her body is perfect for this type of mission."_

_Crossing her arms over her chest defensively, Ino snapped, "Even so, how on earth and I supposed to find him? He's a rogue ninja who's been wandering around for nearly ten years. I won't have a chance of tracking him for if no one else has been able to."_

_Danzo pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to her. "I've prepared this to assist you. Itachi was once a member of ROOT. He was one of my best and brightest shinobi. He was more gifted and talented than any ninja I've ever seen. His obedience to Konoha and ROOT was so complete that when I commissioned him to slaughter his entire clan, he didn't hesitate. He didn't let him emotions make him weak."_

_"You?" gasped Ino. "You commissioned the Uchiha massacre? But…how? Why?"_

_Danzo shrugged, glancing at SPIDER who watched the conversation intently. "The Uchiha clan was planning a coup d'état that would have destroyed Konoha. They needed to be destroyed to ensure the village's survival. Itachi realized that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."_

_"But-but," Ino stuttered. "His own family? You made him kill his own family?"_

_Danzo shrugged. "Uchiha Itachi was the best shinobi ROOT ever produced. He was completely emotionless. Never letting things like love and loyalty get in the way of what was necessary. I hope his child will take after him."_

_SPIDER laughed. "Good luck getting that stick in the mud to get you pregnant."_

_Danzo nodded. "It will be a challenge to be sure. I would recommend using the Mind Transfer Jutsu to accomplish your mission." He nodded to the scroll in her hands. "All members of ROOT have a small tracking device embedded into the ANBU tattoo on their shoulders so that I am able to monitor their progress on missions. This scroll contains a map which will allow you to track Uchiha Itachi's location. It will only be activated by your chakra."_

_Ino gaped at the ROOT leader. "You've had this power all along? Surely Konoha would have found this intelligence useful. After all, Uchiha Sasuke's mission in life is to kill his brother. You've…"_

_Danzo itched at the transplanted Sharingan's on his arm. "Uchiha Sasuke's entire existence is a hopeless waste. I should have gone against Itachi's wishes and just killed the boy."_

_Ino blinked. She was going to have to seduce this man. Learning more about his history would be extremely beneficial. "Itachi left him alive?"_

_Danzo nodded. "He was supposed to exterminate his clan, but he couldn't kill his younger brother. He begged for clemency for Sasuke and I was able to convince him to become useful to the village again. He's been working for Konoha as a double agent in the Akatsuki. He's fed us a great deal of useful information and in return, we haven't killed Sasuke."_

_Ino unraveled the scroll, unable to look at Danzo anymore. All her life, she had thought that Uchiha Itachi was an evil monster. It was hard to comprehend that she had been so wrong about him, that he had been so wronged by Konoha. Who was Uchiha Itachi?_

_SPIDER spoke up for the first time. "I've prepared something for you as well, Ino-chan."_

_Ino glanced up at the doctor. The other woman's brown eyes were filled with a manic glee. "It's a little serum of my making that you will find beneficial. We've completed considerable testing on the serum and have found it to be effective. It will assist you in your mission to be sure."_

_Ino didn't make any move to accept the small bundle of test tubes in the other woman's hands. She didn't like the appearance of the pink liquid splashing around in it. "What's that?"_

_"This potion stimulates your hypothalamus to produce extra luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. Basically, it makes you ovulate. In our testing, we will usually cycle it through your system with a placebo, but for your purposes, I haven't included that. You will need to ovulate to ensure that you become pregnant by the Uchiha. When getting pregnant, you should have sex with him a couple times before taking the potion, which will ensure that he's giving you a healthy dose of sperm."_

_"S-several times?" wondered Ino._

_"Yes," said SPIDER. "Take the potion on the third day or so after you've become lovers and then you should be pregnant with an Uchiha by the end of the week."_

* * *

**Interlude**

_It was as if she had been sent away in the middle of the night. Danzo had arranged for her to be out of the village for as long as three months. He had forged a mission authorization from the Hokage, spilled some sake on it, and had DRAGON slide it into the bottom of a pile of documents in the Hokage's office. _

_Ino walked around in a daze for the rest of the day, closely watched by SPIDER and DRAGON. She had a strange compulsion to run up to one of their friends and yell, "I'm going to go have sex with Uchiha Itachi! What are you doing today?"_

_SPIDER was like an unpleasant shadow, making sure that Ino didn't do something reckless. When Ino started walking over to the Nara residence to see Shikamaru, SPIDER intercepted her. _

_"Ino-chan!" the venomous blonde haired woman cooed. "I haven't seen you in ages. Let's go out for dango!"_

_SPIDER's grip was tight on Ino's elbow as she steered her away from the Nara clan's part of town. The ROOT commander's voice was sickly sweet in Ino's ear. "I can see what you're doing, Ino-chan. You want to give your virginity away to your Nara teammate before you're sent on your mission."_

_"I…" stuttered Ino. She wasn't exactly sure what she had planned to do, but the thought had crossed her mind._

_SPIDER giggled, "We can't have that, Ino-chan. I don't want to risk you whelping a Nara baby instead of an Uchiha baby. I get to decide who enjoys your cunt. Not you."_

_Ino tore her arm out of SPIDER's grasp. "Let me go."_

_Ino tried to talk with her friends before heading off on her mission, but everyone brushed her off. An eight man squad comprised of Teams 7 and 8 were going off on some secret big mission together, so they didn't have time to talk. _

_Sakura was home, but didn't want to talk to anyone. Ino stood on her front step talking with Sakura's mom. _

_"She's upstairs, isn't she? I can see her light on," said Ino._

_"I'm sorry, Ino," Sakura's mother apologized, "but Sakura's trying to prepare herself for this mission. She doesn't want to see anyone."_

_Ino glanced down at her feet. "I understand. It must be an important mission. Teams 7 and 8 seem to be really gearing up for something special."_

_Sakura's mother nodded. "She's been staring at that photo of her genin squad all day."_

_"It must be something about Sasuke then," mused Ino. "I wonder what's going on."_

_"I only know as much as you do, Ino-chan. Sakura seems really upset about her mission."_

_Ino walked away from the house quirking her lips in a wry smile. "Well that would make two of us."_

_Her father had become busy at T&I because they had caught a ROOT operative and needed her father's expertise to assist in the questioning of the man. Choji had found his calling as a teacher at the academy and Shikamaru was still brooding at home about Asuma's death. _

_No one noticed that Ino was about to embark on the most dangerous and soul crushing mission of her life._

_She set out in the early hours of the day, before the sun had risen. Her bag was packed full of things she thought she would need for the mission. She had stared at her pack for hours last night. She had never been sent on a mission like this before. What was a kunoichi supposed to wear when convincing an S-Rank missing nin to get her pregnant with his child? Oh Kami, she didn't want to lose her virginity to a stranger. She wanted to..._

_Danzo, SPIDER, and DRAGON meet her in a secluded forest outside of the village. SPIDER handed her a bag packed with Kami knows what and pressed several vials of that little pink potion into her hands. _

_The older woman's dark eyes glittered with cruel amusement. "Happy hunting, Ino-chan. Give Itachi-sempai a good time now."_

_DRAGON pouted. "That lucky jerk."_

_Danzo handed her the map and said, "She's not yours to play with DRAGON. Remember that. The Uchiha is in Rock Country right now, he's been stationary for a couple days now. Be careful that you aren't identified by any ninjas from Iwa while you're on the mission. Your mission is of the utmost secrecy." _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers: ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36, narutardXD, KawaiPanda, and Sasheysxm. You guys are the best. :-)**

**These are the ItaIno excepts from my very long ShikaIno story called the Endgame. There are SasuHina, NaruSaku, ItaIno, KakaAnko subplots in that story. I've reorganized and regrouped the ItaIno moments together in The Queen's Gambit, but if you want to see the other characters' parts in the story, you can read The Endgame.**

* * *

**The Endgame Chapter 40 **

**Interlude**

_He could tell that his teammate was smiling widely as he said, "I wish I had a murderous younger brother. Being commanded by Pein to lay low sure is a nice way to spend the time."_

_"Hn," muttered Itachi. "I don't see why you had to choose an onsen. We'd probably…"_

_Kisame scoffed, "Jeez, 'tachi. You might be only like fifteen, but-"_

_"Twenty-two," Itachi corrected._

_"Onsens like this one that don't have separate bathing areas for men and women offer the unique opportunity for men like us to watch women bathing in a completely socially acceptable manner," continued Kisame. _

_"Somehow, I don't think that practice could ever be considered socially acceptable," quipped Itachi._

_Kisame leaned back against the wall of the pool, stretching his arms along the cooler tiles lining the hot spring. "It sounds like you don't know how to have fun, Itachi."_

_After dropping off the jinchuriki with the Akatsuki and getting the order to lay low, Kisame and Itachi had ventured into the Land of Fire. They hastened across the country careful to avoid shinobi patrols and any unwanted attention. _

_Kisame had been raving about the Blue Lagoon Onsen for years, so Itachi finally decided to humor his teammate and go with him to see the hot spring. It was close enough to the Uchiha Hideout where he planned to meet his brother after a week's time when Sasuke caught up to him. It would be a good place to lie low while he waited for Sasuke to approach._

_The Blue Lagoon Onsen was on the coastal village of Raguun; it was in the southeast of the Land of Fire, several days south of Konoha. Raguun was famous throughout the Land of Fire. It was known to many as the Floating Village of Raguun. The ocean was just over the long islands stretching across the mouth of the lagoon. The barrier islands protected Raguun from the tides and the storms._

_Huge pylons had been sunk down into the brackish water to anchor and support the larger buildings. The onsen with its heated pools was supported by stilts, buoyed up by a total of ten huge oak trunks. Rows of wooden stairs came down to the surface of the water where the floating walkways were suspended in mazes connecting all of the rooms of the onsen. _

_The two Akatsuki members relaxed in one of the main outdoor pools. It was early March and still a bit brisk outside, but the onsen's pool was heated making the two teammates perfectly comfortable._

_The dark haired eyed Uchiha scoffed before brushing his bangs back from his face. His long hair was sticking to the back of his neck uncomfortably. His bangs clung to the perspiration on his face. "Even so, the sample of beautiful women here is rather slim."_

_Kisame narrowed his eyes and glanced around. "Picking aren't terrible, 'tachi. Some of the women are really beautiful if you think you can handle one."_

_Itachi snorted. "I'll leave that for you."_

_Kisame chuckled. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, 'tachi. You only live once."_

_Itachi brushed his bangs out of his eyes and commented, "Do you have any idea how many missing nins get killed or captured after having one night stands with beautiful women in onsens?"_

_Kisame smirked. "Sounds like a nice way to go to me."_

_Itachi rolled his eyes._

_Resting his head on one arm, Kisame turned to his friend. "How long do you think you have? When are you going to meet Sasuke?"_

_Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. "Not much longer than a week."_

_"Whoa, who's that?" wondered Kisame._

_Itachi opened his eyes and looked to the front of the onsen where his teammate was staring. A young blonde woman brushed aside the fabric covering the doorway to the outdoor bathing facility and walked out along the small promenade. She was one of the most beautiful creatures he'd ever seen. The tiny white towel she wrapped around herself did little to hide her generous breasts, slender waist, curvaceous hips, and lean long legs. Her blonde hair fell in a glorious wave to her lower back. Her bright blue eyes gazed straight at him, betraying some secret in their depths. _

_He felt immediately ashamed of himself for sizing her up as a piece of meat like he and surely every other man in the pool was._

_Kisame nudged him. "Even if it's only for a week, you might as well enjoy yourself, eh?" _

_Itachi stuttered, "I—I…"_

_Kisame chuckled. "Don't sweat it 'tachi. I can delay Sasuke a couple days for you if you'd like. Give you some time to get to know Blondie better. Think of it as a present from one teammate to another."_

_He held his breath as she dropped her towel and waded into the water. She was the goddess Amaterasu. _

* * *

**Interlude**

_The setting sun set the lagoon on fire. The water was placid that evening, gentle ripples flowed against his feet as he sat on the edge of one of the floating walkways outside the onsen. Raguun was truly a floating village. _

_Lanterns burned brightly in the coming darkness, strung across the palm trees rising from the lagoon like quiet sentinels. Lamps flickered on the edges of the floating walkways, to light the path. A little dark haired woman with a lamp ran to and fro lighting them. _

_The light from the onsen spilled out onto the dock as the door opened and a figure stepped out into the twilight. Her sweet silhouette was cast in front of her, falling over him. The soft light from the lanterns turned her hair to molten gold. His goddess's bare feet made little noise on the stairs. When she stepped onto the floating path, it swayed gently below them. She was so beautiful. It was a shame that she was there to betray him._

_"Do you mind if I join you," asked the girl, stopping in front of him. "It's such a beautiful sunset. Maybe we could share it."_

_Itachi nodded and said, "It would be my pleasure." _

_She sat beside him, sliding her feet into the water. She looked down at the small lotus blossoms floating at her feet. "It's so beautiful here, don't you think? I'm glad that I have my room for the week."_

_Raising an eyebrow, he considered her. "Yes. My friend recommended the place to me. Though it's a shame, he left this evening for business."_

_The girl tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry to hear that." She leaned towards him, her eyes shining with a secret. He vaguely noticed her hands weaving handsigns. "I'm here by myself too. Maybe we could—"_

_Itachi frowned at her and his eyes bled crimson. "So are you an assassin or a seductress?"_

_The girl gaped at him. "What do you mean?"_

_He gripped her wrists in his hands and pulled them apart before she could complete the jutsu. Her face betrayed fear. "I wasn't born yesterday. I can recognize a kunoichi on an infiltration mission as well as anyone. So what are you after then? The bounty or the kekkei genkai?"_

_She blinked innocently at him. "I don't understand. Have I done something to offend you?"_

_He pursed his lips. "I recognize those handsigns belonging to a jutsu of the Yamanaka clan so you must be a kunoichi from Konoha. Did Danzo send you?"_

_"How did you know?" Ino asked._

_"Simple observation and deductive reasoning," he noted. "You couldn't have found me so easily without ROOT's help."_

_She struggled in his grasp. "They want your kekkei genkai. They want me to…to..."_

_His crimson eyes were cold. "Did you think that I would be so easily seduced? You're way in over your head, Yamanaka. I'll give you one chance to back off. Meddle with me after that and you'll be sorry."_

_Itachi applied more pressure to her wrists. He could feel the bones in her wrist creaking in protest. He had definitely sprained one of them. But the girl stilled in his grasp and stared him down resolutely. She was either very brave or very foolish. _

_Her breath was unsteady from the pain as she gasped out, "I…I can't."_

_He broke her wrist. She let out a muffled scream of pain. "Last chance, girl," he said. "Whatever Danzo's holding over you, it's not worth meddling in my affairs." _

_Instead of cowering from him, she glared at him coolly. "That's easy for you to say," she spat. "Don't you think that I've already weighed the risks? Do you think I would be here if I had any other options?"_

_"I'm not one to be trifled with," he threatened, putting added pressure on her broken wrist._

_She glared back. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as she tried to hold back the scream of pain. She snarled through gritted teeth, "Neither am I."_

_"What's your name?" he wondered._

_"Yamanaka Ino."_

_He released her wrist and stood up, considering her. "Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?"_

_She remained seated, resting her broken wrist in her lap as she applied healing chakra to it. Her face glowed in the green light of her chakra. "Nothing but trouble. I would leave the Uchiha clan to their fate if I had the choice. Kami, I hate that bastard Danzo. The world would be better if the Sharingan became extinct." _

_Itachi's brows furrowed as he tried to puzzle out the meaning in her words. "You're probably right. The Uchiha clan is plagued by the Curse of Hatred."_

_She sighed deeply and stood up having finished healing her wrist. "Are you going to kill me then?"_

_He considered her. "I haven't decided yet. Are you willing to die over this?"_

_Her eyes blinked rapidly, keeping in the unshed tears. "I wasn't given the luxury of making that decision for myself."_

_Itachi stared at her. "Did he use the Kotoamatsukami on you?"_

_"How did you—"_

_"You're not a member of ROOT. You don't have the tattoo on your tongue," Itachi mused. "Why did Danzo choose you? You're beautiful to be sure, but there must have been another reason. Does he want another pair of Shisui's eyes? His mother was a woman from the Yamanaka clan. If only I hadn't already given Shisui's other eye to Naruto yesterday."_

_"Y-yesterday?" Ino gasped. "Can you reverse his genjutsu with your eyes?"_

_Itachi shook his head. "Shisui's jutsu is too powerful even for my eyes."_

_Ino pleaded, "Your brother, Sasuke, his dream is to resurrect the Uchiha clan. You've done him a terrible wrong. This could be your way of paying penance. Give me a child." _


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers: narutardXD, ****NarutoisVIP, and Sasheysxm. You guys are the best. :-)**

* * *

**The Endgame Chapter 44 **

**Interlude**

_The next day she sensed him inside one of the smaller pools at the onsen. It was remote, in one of the smaller rooms floating above the lagoon. He was alone, which was a blessing for her. She could try to corner him. He had mentioned last night that his teammate had left the onsen. That would make her life easier if she didn't need to worry about Hoshigaki Kisame._

_Jutsu wasn't going to work. As soon as she started weaving handsigns, he'd put a stop to it. She'd have to seduce him the old fashioned way._

_Damn._

_She wrapped one of the cloth robes around herself; it hit her about mid-thigh. She tip toed down the hall towards the room, trying to calm her breathing. How had he made her so easily last night?_

"I wasn't born yesterday. I can recognize a kunoichi on an infiltration mission as well as anyone. So what are you after then? The bounty or the kekkei genkai? … Did you think that I would be so easily seduced? You're way in over your head, Yamanaka. I'll give you one chance to back off. Meddle with me after that and you'll be sorry."

_How many other kunoichi had he encountered doing the same thing? Kami, she was in over her head just as he said. He could have killed her yesterday. He could have killed her so easily. Broke her neck, tied a weight around her ankles, and tossed into the lagoon. Kami, it would've been easy for him._

_Instead he broke her wrist and threatened her. What did he mean by that? Was it supposed to be a kindness? He could have killed her. Why did he let her go?_

"You're not a member of ROOT. You don't have the tattoo on your tongue. Why did Danzo choose you? You're beautiful to be sure, but there must have been another reason. Does he want another pair of Shisui's eyes? His mother was a woman from the Yamanaka clan."

_Kami, the whole conversation had been dizzying. It had been like talking with Shikamaru when he was in one of his smartass moods. Naturally, she knew that Shikamaru was a genius and could think like twenty moves ahead of her, but he didn't rub it in her face very often. When they were having a spat, he'd usually go easy on her. It was only when she'd pushed and goaded and really driven him up the wall that he would unleash his crazy intellect. When that happened, he'd just run rings around her as Itachi had last night._

_Itachi must be another one of those annoying strategic geniuses. Kami, wasn't one enough!_

_Last night it had been just like arguing with Shikamaru when he was being a smartass. Itachi had thrown one thing after another at her that he couldn't possibly have deduced so easily but he had. He'd read her so easily, as Shikamaru was always able to. It was astounding._

_She allowed herself a small smile. She had experience arguing with Shikamaru, years of experience to be exact. When he was actually trying, he'd almost always win. However, she'd learned a couple tricks over the years. She knew a technique or two that stopped Shikamaru in his tracks. They might work on Itachi too._

_She finally reached the pool. She could sense his chakra inside. It wasn't a shadow clone. She didn't sense any duplicate chakra in or around the onsen. She pulled back the rice paper door and stepped inside._

_It was time to try her first technique for winning an argument against a strategic genius._

_The old take off your clothes and get wet method. Always worked like a charm on Shikamaru. She usually didn't strip down completely in front of Shikamaru, but if she was losing an argument on a mission she would get him alone and take the argument to a stream or a lake under the pretense of cleaning dishes or clothes._

_She'd strip down to her underwear and then find some excuse to submerge herself completely in the water. When she walked towards Shikamaru dripping wet with her nipples hard from the cold water, he'd give up immediately on the argument._

_Worked like a charm. _

_This technique was almost too easy at an onsen. Itachi was sitting against the far side of the small pool, with his arms resting on the cool concrete. The pool was heated, so there was a light flush to his skin. He'd tied his long hair up, but his dark bangs stuck to the sides of his face. His eyes were closed. _

_He opened them slowly as she walked in._

_"Yamanaka Ino," he said. His voice was huskier perhaps than he intended._

_She dropped the robe at her feet and stared him in the eyes. His dark eyes widened briefly for a moment before completing a slow perusal of her naked body. _

_"Uchiha Itachi," she replied._

_She walked towards him and into the warm water of the pool. She submerged herself and then sat down on the opposite side of the pool. She needed a second to collect herself. She was shivering even against the warm water. She couldn't let him know scared she was._

_"I see that you haven't left Raguun," Itachi said._

_She grinned. "I've already pre-paid for the room for a week. It would be a shame to waste it."_

_The corner of his lips curled up in something resembling a smile. "They say that you're not supposed to make your decisions based on sunk costs, Ino."_

_Sunk costs, interesting. She could play off this. She rose to her feet, taking notice of the way his eyes tracked the drops of water sliding between her bare breasts. She waded towards him. _

_"What's a sunk cost?" she wondered, coming closer. _

_He wet his lips and had to clear his throat before saying, "A past cost that's already been incurred that you can't recover. For example, the fact you've already paid for your room. That shouldn't influence your decision to stay." _

_She was almost upon him. It was time to try her second technique for winning an argument against a strategic genius._

_The old get too close method. Always worked like a charm on Shikamaru. She wasn't usually completely naked when she did this as she was now, but if she was losing an argument with Shikamaru and there wasn't a source of water nearby, this was the next best technique. _

_She'd get really close to him and press her body against his, touch his arms and chest, cling onto him. When her body was pressed up against his, and she was whispering her arguments quietly in his ear, he'd give up almost immediately._

_Worked like a charm._

_Itachi hadn't made any move to stop her from getting closer, so she decided to press her luck. She slid closer to him and he stayed still as a statue. A little smirk bloomed on her face as she straddled him, moving her knees to either side of his hips. Still, he didn't move. She leaned closer._

_"That's true," she said, tracing the tip of his ear with her tongue. "I shouldn't let my past influence what I decide to do with my future."_

_He was silent, staring at her intently. Yet he didn't push her away. She ran her hands up his chest and settled down in his lap. She could feel him already hard against her thigh. She went in for the kill. _

_"But you're letting the past decide what you're doing with your future aren't you, Itachi?" she whispered, nipping at the tip of his ear teasingly._

_Something dark flickered across his eyes before he pulled her towards him and claimed her mouth in a furious kiss._

* * *

**Interlude**

_She pulled him into her room, kissing him madly. He tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth as his hands fumbled with the tie to her robe. He slipped it off her shoulders and pulled her towards him once more. _

_She slipped his robe off his shoulders and guided him back towards the room where her futon lay unrolled on the floor. She swept her tongue into his mouth, teasing and caressing. She could feel the hard length of him pressing against her belly. Kami, how was that supposed to fit inside her?_

_His agile, long fingers glided along her skin, caressing and massaging. They slid down to her ass, lifting her up against his hips. She wrapped her legs around his waist, as he kneaded her ass, spreading her legs even wider around him._

_"Oh, Itachi," she moaned. _

_He carried her to the bed, kissing a line down her chest to her breasts. He kissed one of her erect nipples before taking the other one in his mouth. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, panting. _

_Kami, he was eliciting all these new and strange pleasures from her. She gripped him tightly in her arms and with her legs, clinging desperately. She'd never felt like this before. The pleasure was maddening, all consuming. She felt dizzy and flushed and this strange need was blossoming deeply within her, this strange need to be filled by something she didn't quite understand. _

_He slipped one finger inside her and she gasped out in surprise. His tongue swirled around her nipple, nipping occasionally, while his clever finger caressed her from the inside. _

_"Oh, Kami!" she keened. "Oh, Kami, don't stop!"_

_He rested her down in the middle of the bed and hovered over her. She gasped and moaned as his finger teased and stroked and thrust inside her. Her legs twitched madly from where they were sprawled out on either side of his hips. He slipped a second finger inside her, spreading her wider._

_"Oh, Itachi!" she gasped._

_His clever fingers found a little nub inside of her and she panted and moaned in surprise. Oh, Kami, that was sinful. He went at the nub with his fingers. She moaned and panted. She could feel the pressure building and building until it was too much and she went into supernova. She screamed out in ecstasy as black spots danced in front of her eyes. She arched off the bed, bucking her hips against his hand instinctively. _

_"Wow," she said. _

_He pulled his fingers out of her and put them to his lips. They were sticky and wet. She moaned as she watched him suck her arousal off his fingers. _

_He slid up her body to kiss her again. She could taste herself on his tongue. He settled back down against her. She could feel him hard and hot and thick against her moist folds. _

_Oh, Kami, she wasn't sure if she was ready for this._

_"I've never done this before," she gasped against his mouth._

_He chuckled into her ear. "Never seduced an S-Rank missing nin in an onsen?"_

_"No," she breathed, "I've never had sex before."_

_He pulled back from her in surprise. "You're a virgin?"_

_She nodded dumbly._

_He smoothed his palm over her cheek. "So am I."_

_"You are?" she wondered in surprise. _

_He nodded, running the pad of his thumb over her lips._

_"But you're really good at this," she wondered._

_He chuckled and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You're not so bad yourself, Ino."_

_She accepted his kiss, running her hands down his back. She could feel him right at her entrance. It was too late to stop now. "Kami," she moaned._

_He nuzzled her neck and whispered, "I can wear someone else's face if that'll make it easier for you. I'm sure that you didn't want your first time to be with a man like me."_

_He moved back to look her in the eyes. She gazed at him in surprise. "You'd do that for me?"_

_He looked at her, smiling tenderly. "If that's what you want, Ino, of course."_

_Her eyes fluttered madly as she tried to keep the tears from dripping down her face. One escaped and he wiped it away with his thumb. "That's alright," she said finally, moving her hips against his. "I want it to be you, Itachi."_

_"Are you sure?" he asked moving his hands to hers._

_She gripped his hands tightly in hers. "Yes. I want it to be you, Itachi," she repeated._

_He kissed her on the forehead. He moved slowly into her and she winced at the uncomfortable sensation of being stretched and penetrated so. He closed his eyes and moaned at the sensation. She let out a sob of pain as she felt him tearing something inside her. _

_He kissed her closed eyelids, her chin, her cheekbones, whispering, "Are you okay? Let me know if I'm hurting you, if it's uncomfortable."_

_She gripped his hands, trying to keep from crying. "It hurts," she said._

_He pulled out her slowly and kissed away the tears dripping down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, love," he whispered._

_She panted below him, "Don't stop, Itachi. We need to do this."_

_With a low moan, he slid into her again. It didn't hurt as much the second time, so she shifted against him, rocking her hips against his slowly. _

_"Kami, that's much better," she moaned._

_He pulled out and pushed into her again slowly. She rocked against him, wrapping her legs around his waist to allow him to slide deeper inside her._

_"Oh, Itachi," she gasped, "oh, Kami!"_

_He slipped out of her and gripped her hands tightly in his before penetrating her again. "Oh, Kami, Ino," he moaned. "You feel like heaven."_

_He pulled out and thrust into her again and again and again; she moved in time with his thrusts. He gripped her hands tightly in his and rained kisses on her face. _

_He gasped out her name as they climbed together to that mysterious height. They climbed and soared and danced together. It was beautiful and romantic and divine. They finally reached the pinnacle together and she arched off the bed screaming his name while he moaned hers, spilling his seed deep inside her._


	4. Chapter 4

**The Endgame Chapter 37**

**Interlude**

_Rising from the bed, the dark haired man looked back at the blonde haired beauty tangled in his bed sheets. With her hair spread across the pillows and the sheets wrapped around her waist, he thought her a vision. The sunlight from the window was strewn across her bare breasts._

_Pulling on his pants and shrugging on his mesh undershirt and black long sleeve shirt, he walked over to sit beside her the bed. He ran a hand through her blonde hair, smoothing it back from her face so he could see her one last time. _

_She was too young and too beautiful to be taking on some of his cares like this. It was selfish to ask this of her, but she had come to him seeking this. He placed a hand of her flat belly where already their child was growing. He could sense it in the flicker of chakra beneath his hand. "Itachi?" whispered her voice husky with sleep. "Is something wrong?"_

_"No," he whispered back. "Go back to sleep."_

_She sighed and stretched, sitting up in the bed. The white sheets fell to pool in her lap. Her too blue eyes were still foggy with sleep and her blonde hair was a messy halo around her face. She reached a delicate hand towards him and he let her pull him in for a kiss. It was tender and sweet, not like the fire and passion of the previous nights. _

_Pulling back, she looked up at him. "I'm never going to see you again, am I?"_

_"I'm sorry."_

_Her smile was bittersweet. "I wish it didn't have to be this way. You're a good man; you shouldn't have to die like this. Your brother will never forgive himself when he finds out the truth."_

_He gathered her beautiful body into his arms. She rested her blonde head against his shoulder. He said, "It's the only logical progression. I've taken things too far and it's the only way that I can right it."_

_"But you don't need to—" the girl began._

_He ran a hand down her arm, saying, "I'm dying. It's only a matter of time before I succumb. In this way my death won't be in vain, I'll be able to rid my brother of Orochimaru's influence." She looked down at her hands unhappily. He lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye. He smiled softly at her. "You're the only thing in my life that I've done right."_

_"Oh, you did me well," she winked at him._

_Laying a hand on her belly, he said, "I'm sorry that I won't be around to help raise our baby, but I know that it'll be happy and healthy with you as its mother."_

_"I don't know the first thing about raising an Uchiha baby," the girl chuckled._

_He chuckled, "I'm sure it's not much different than raising other babies. You'll do fine."_

_She sighed and shifted out of his grasp. He felt empty without her in his arms. She lay back against the bed, smiling up at him. "Surely you don't need to race off to pound Sasuke right this minute?"_

_He gazed down at her, muttering, "I find myself losing my nerve."_

_"Meh," said the girl. "I'm just sexy as hell and you can't help yourself."_

_He laughed. "You're a rare woman, Yamanaka Ino."_

_He tossed his long sleeve shirt over his head before tugging off his mesh undershirt. He kissed his way up her body, lingering on the flat plane of her belly where his children were already growing, before he got to her lips. She wrapped her arms around him with a happy sigh._

* * *

**The Endgame Chapter 46**

**Interlude**

_She slipped her hand into his, pulling him closer to her as they walked down the floating pontoons and walkways of Raguun. She tilted her head up and gave him a sweet smile. He pulled her closer to her, enjoying the feeling of their joined more than he should have. _

_He couldn't fall in love with her. He was supposed to die for Sasuke in a few short days; she could make him lose his resolve. Already he'd sent a shadow clone to delay his brother, so he could stay wrapped tightly in her arms._

_Her knee length blue dress flowed around her knees as she walked, the light fabric brushing against his pants as they walked together. _

_"See, isn't this fun!" Ino chirped. "It was so boring been cooped up in our rooms for days. I've never been Raguun before, why waste the vacation?"_

_Itachi shrugged. He'd quite enjoyed being cooped up Ino's room for days. He didn't think it was possible for two people to have so much sex, but they'd managed it somehow._

_"So what did you want to do then?" he asked. "I don't know much about the city either."_

_"I wouldn't mind just walking around and taking the sights, getting lost in hidden highways and byways. Maybe grab a snack, see what the locals are doing," Ino shrugged. She squeezed his hand and grinned at him. "What about you?"_

_He turned to her, unable to spend another minute without her in his arms. He pulled her to his chest and kissed her on the forehead. "That sounds wonderful. As long as I get to be with you, I'm happy."_

_He pulled away and her eyes glittered mischievously before standing on tip toes and kissing him quickly on the mouth. "That's really sweet. But really, let me know if you have any ideas."_

_He wrapped an arm around her waist and then they were walking again. _

_"What's your family like? Who was on your genin team?" he asked._

_She rested her golden head against his shoulder and mused. "I'm an only child and a total Daddy's girl. Yamanaka Inoichi. Did you ever get a chance to meet my dad while you lived in Konoha?"_

_He knew that she was a Yamanaka kunoichi and he had guessed that her father was the Head of the clan. The heir or heiress of the clan was always given the name "Ino." The three clans all operated that way. "Ino," "Shika," "Cho." He'd only worked with Inoichi a couple of times during his years in Konoha. _

_"Only once or twice. Inoichi and his teammates Shikaku and Choza were famous throughout Konoha for their teamwork. Their sons were in Sasuke's class at the academy. Are they on your team too?"_

_She kissed his chin and said, "Jeez, that always amazes me when you go from point A to point R in a blink of an eye, skipping all the steps in the middle. Shikamaru does the same thing."_

_"This Shikamaru must be Shikaku's son. When he was a child, Sasuke mentioned him once or twice."_

_Ino nodded. "You've got an excellent memory. I hope my baby inherits that you from you."_

_A warm feeling bloomed in his chest as she said my baby. He rested his hand low on her belly. "I hope the baby is a brave and strong as you are."_

_Ino laughed loudly, "Me brave? You must have the wrong person. I'm not good in battle; my talents are more for support and intelligence gathering. That's what Shikamaru always says: our team is very good at running away."_

_He didn't move his hand from her belly. "What you're doing here, is the bravest thing I've ever seen. I can't even begin to comprehend the things you've had to sacrifice to help revive my clan."_

_There was a faraway look in her eyes and they walked in silence for a few minutes. Was she thinking of the man she loved? The one who she wanted to give her virginity to that he'd stolen from her. Who was this Shikamaru she kept mentioning? She must have loved him a great deal for her thoughts to keep returning to him so faithfully._

_Her head titled to the side when she heard the sound of music, laughing, and the dull sound of bamboo reeds being hit together. "Oh, let's see what's going on over there!"_

_She dragged him over by the hand, grinning widely. Her blue eyes sparkled at him and he was lost. _

_It was a group of dancers laughing in the large square in the center of the floating city. They were four pairs of men and women each holding the ends of two bamboo reeds on the ground and banging them together to make a beat. They four pairs of bamboo reeds and players were spread out in the square. A dark haired woman danced barefoot along with the beat, leaping nimbly in and out of the bamboo reeds as they were banged together to make the sound._

_Some musicians played music on the edge of the square and the rest of the onlookers clapped along with the beat. The woman's tempo picked up as she danced to and fro, soon joined by several other men and women._

_He'd slipped his arms around Ino while they watched, pulling her back against his chest and resting his arms around her waist. She was soft and lithe and so wonderful against him. Clapping her hands happily to the music, she watched quietly for several minutes, humming along with the music. _

_After several minutes, she turned to him. "Let's try, Itachi. That looks like fun."_

_He loosened his grip around her, sliding his hands to her hips. "You go ahead. I'll watch."_

_She tweaked his nose and took off her sandals, pressing them into his hands. She ran off to join the other dancers. Her blue dress flowed around her legs and she jumped in and out of the bamboo reeds as they were hit against each other, twirling and giggling with the brunette dancing with her._

_She kept glancing back and him, smiling and making faces, beckoning him to join her. A voice at his shoulder said, "Your wife dances very well."_

_He glanced sideways at an older man and woman watching the dancing, clapping along in time with the beat. His eyes followed theirs to the radiant blonde haired girl dancing along with the other men and women._

_"She does," Itachi agreed. _

* * *

**Interlude**

_It was the late morning sun streaming through the window that woke her up. She groaned and shifted, trying to slip out of the arms hugging her tightly to a muscular chest. They were both very naked and the evidence of his arousal was against the back of her thigh. _

_"Itachi," she whispered. "Wake up. I want to walk around town again today."_

_He merely tightened his arms around her in response. "Let's just stay like this all day," he muttered in her ear._

_She shivered in spite of herself. "Wake up, silly," she hissed wriggling against him._

_Her lover's warm breath tickled her ear as he chuckled, "If you keep doing that, I'm going to want you all over again." _

_"Please, Itachi," she pleaded. _

_"Make me," he teased._

_She rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned around to face him. His arms were still wrapped tightly around her and he pulled her to him, their legs now intertwined. Her hair was caught under his body; it pulled at her scalp uncomfortably. His dark eyes glowed with a secret. _

_He was so beautifully tragic and tragically beautiful. _

_"Come on," she tried again._

_He smirked and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. Her hands splayed out on his chest and her lips inches away from his, she gasped, "What are you -?"_

_Chuckling, he drawled, "I would have thought that much would have been obvious."_

_He leaned up and silenced her next question with a kiss. He loosened his hands from around her to let them wander her body. Her hair was free and in a messy tangle down her back. She giggled at the feeling of his fingers tracing up the individual vertebrae of her spine. Straddling his hips, she ran her fingers down his chest and enjoyed the sounds he made deep in his throat when she kissed the pulse point on his neck. _

_"Oh Ino," he gasped out. "I love you."_

_She sat back and looked down at him in shock. He furrowed his brow and slid his hands down to rest on her hips._

_"What did you say?" Ino asked._

_He looked confused at her surprise. "I'm not sure why you would find this surprising, all things considered." Clutching her hips tight enough to leave bruises, he pulled her hips down to ground against her intimately to emphasize his point._

_She moaned at the feeling of him so close to her entrance. Kami, she was wet again already. She put her hands over his, trying to loosen his grip on her hips. He had other ideas. He lifted his hips so that the top of him just barely slipped into her. It was so teasing, so exquisite. "Itachi...I….I…oh, Kami, don't stop…."_

_She threw her head back and lost herself in the ecstasy of his touch. His hands clutched her hips and helped her find her rhythm as they moved together. Their gasps and moans reached a crescendo until she finally reached the precipice and threw herself off. Black spots danced in her vision and she collapsed boneless on top of him._


	5. Epilogue

**A/N: A special thanks for all my lovely reviewers: narutardXD, ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36, NarutoisVIP.  
**

**This is the epilogue to the story. You can read more about what happens to Ino in The Endgame, which takes place after the events in The Queen's Gambit. It's a Shikamaru/Ino story, so fair warning. I'm also going to be coming out with the sequel to The Endgame sometime next week. That takes place five years later when Itachi's three little boys, Kurohyou, Kawauso, and Karasu are four years old.**

* * *

**The Endgame Chapter 14**

**Interlude**

_He thought it a strange request, but Sasuke would move mountains if it was his brother's will. A simple bouquet of flowers to lay at the Memorial Stone was no skin off his back. He wondered why Itachi didn't just ask him to drop the flowers off at someone's house. Maybe the person was dead or Itachi didn't know where they lived anymore._

_"Everything I did was for you and for Konoha; my clan and myself came last. Though in the end, I was selfish. I gave someone a share in our clan's struggle. A burden this person should never have had to bear." Those had been Itachi's words. Sasuke was intrigued by this person Itachi had shared his troubles with. He hoped to meet the man or woman. Was it a friend? Was it a lover?_

_There weren't as many flower shops in town now. So much had been destroyed during Pein's invasion and many shops and houses had yet to be rebuilt. But Sasuke knew that his classmate Yamanaka Ino had a flower shop because Sakura talked about going over to visit all the time. So it was as good a place as any to pick up Itachi's flowers._

_He went over in the morning before he had to report to the Hokage Building for another of his psych evaluations. The sign on the door read OPEN, but there was no one around when he walked in. He took out the small piece of paper from his pocket where he had written down the flowers and looked around the shop. What the hell was hibiscus?_

_The door to the backroom was open. He didn't want to be too late for his meeting with the Torture and Interrogation department. Mitarashi Anko was in charge of his psych evaluation and he didn't like to think what she would do when pissed off. It was ironic that a person with equally questionable sanity was administering his test. Though, he couldn't complain about it to Kakashi. Sasuke suspected that Anko and the Hokage were lovers. Kakashi would find it amusing and tell Anko. Then Sasuke would find himself in real trouble. _

_He went into the backroom hoping to find Ino. He wandered around the many funeral arrangements lined up around the room with names of different ninja who had died in the war. There was a noise from off to the side._

_Great, it was the sound of throwing up. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke wandered over. He hoped that she was still hungover from the previous night's drinking binge rather than sick with the stomach flu. He didn't fancy catching anything. Her throwing up was intermingled with sobs._

_"Ino?" called out Sasuke. "It's Uchiha Sasuke. I have a flower order. I'm leaving it at the front desk. I'll expect to pick it up this afternoon around four."_

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sasuke wandered into Yamanaka flowers that evening to pick up his order. Sakura and Ino were sitting together giggling at the front desk. Great. Ino must have run straight to Sakura after seeing Sasuke's note._

_"Wild night?" asked Sasuke when he reached them. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Ino looked uncomfortable. Sasuke continued, "When I got here this morning, Ino was throwing up in the bathroom. Were you still drunk from last night?"_

_Sakura turned to Ino in concern. "You were drinking last night? I thought you were going to bed early because you were tired. Were you drinking alone? That's…"_

_Ino waved her hand at Sakura before leveling a glare at Sasuke. "It doesn't matter, just drop it."_

_Sakura frowned at her friend. Turning to Sasuke with a sly smile, she asked, "So who's the lucky girl that the flowers are for, Sasuke?"_

_Ino grinned at him and took out the bouquet from under the desk. It was a beautiful arrangement of white gardenias and lilies, yellow roses and hibiscus, and blue forget-me-nots and bluebells. "I didn't really understand what sort of message you were going for."_

_"They're flowers," said Sasuke with a shrug. _

_"All the flowers you selected have meaning. They can be arranged in different ways to offer a message. I didn't realize that you knew about the language of flowers."_

_"I don't," said Sasuke. "My brother asked me to put a bouquet with these flowers at the Memorial Stone."_

_Sakura smiled. "So they're not for a girl."_

_Shrugging, Sasuke continued, "My brother wanted me to put them at the Stone for someone."_

_"Did Itachi say who they were for?" wondered Sakura._

_"No, he didn't say if it was for a man or a woman or if it is for someone who's alive or dead. I guess if they're still alive he's hoping that that person will see them."_

_"That's sort of romantic," Sakura sighed. "Maybe there was a girl he regretted leaving behind in Konoha and went to his grave before professing his love for her."_

_"Dunno," said Sasuke._

_Sakura paused for a second. "I wonder if they're for Kakashi- sensei."_

_Sasuke glared. "What the hell's wrong with you? What makes you think my brother would proclaim his love for Kakashi?"_

_Sakura shrugged her shoulders apologetically. "He might not be proclaiming his love. Maybe he's apologizing to Kakashi for something. Kakashi's out there like every day. He's the only person that I could think of around Konoha that's more of less guaranteed to see the flowers. Even if he was on a mission for a couple days."_

_"Hm," mused Sasuke. He turned to Ino. "You said something about the language of flowers. What do the flowers say?"_

_Ino, who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the exchange, nodded. She slipped her fingers through the flowers, her blue eyes somber. "I don't know if it's a message, but I can tell you what the different flowers represent. The bluebells represent being grateful for something; the plumeria represents new beginnings. The forget-me-nots, yellow hibiscus and gardemia are all speaking of love and romance: a true love, a rare beauty, a secret love. The white calla lily can mean purity or motherhood. The yellow rose is hard to define. Here I think it means an apology or a broken heart." _


End file.
